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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309458">Heart on Ice (heart on ice)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontrollthedice/pseuds/dontrollthedice'>dontrollthedice</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lucid Dreams and Hearts on Ice [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Holidays, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Break Up</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:27:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,223</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28309458</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontrollthedice/pseuds/dontrollthedice</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The doorbell rang before he could get too far into his thoughts.</p><p>Skeppy frowned and glanced at the time on his phone, scrolling through his notifications. It was ten in the evening, and none of his friends had texted him. There was no reason somebody should be—</p><p>Wait.</p><p><b>BadBoyHalo [09:22PM]</b> Hey! I know this is a little sudden, but I’ll be coming around in about half an hour to drop off a Christmas gift for you. Hope that’s okay.</p><p>Fuck. Why didn’t he see this earlier?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zak Ahmed/Darryl Noveschosch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Lucid Dreams and Hearts on Ice [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2071356</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>310</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Heart on Ice (heart on ice)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>sequel to Lucid Dreams (Forget Me)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Winter was always so cold now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy slammed his front door shut, shivering from the chilly winds outside. Trying to go for a run outside in just a T-shirt and shorts during Christmas had been an awful decision. Looked like all that self-improvement stuff would have to come in January.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>January. There was no reason to wait all the way until January.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His shoulders went rigid when he thought about the possibility of him maybe just making excuses for himself. But he had been getting better at this whole being a human thing since three winters ago. He wasn't the same person anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The road to pulling himself out of the initial depression after the breakup had been a long, tough one that had tested both his and his friends' patience. It had lasted around a year before he had finally decided to hit the gym more often, eat something with more nutrition than some carbs and salt, let himself laugh with friends. He had spent too much time wondering what had gone wrong instead of what decisions had been made to lead to whatever had gone wrong at the time. Skeppy had been clingy throughout the relationship, yes, but it had been Bad's decision to distance himself the clingier he became. And on that same note, the love in the relationship had grown stale, but it had been Skeppy's decision to have given up all hope in it rather than planning more exciting dates. Neither were perfect people; they both could've put more effort into the relationship. It took Skeppy a year to think about that without his heart ripping in two.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even then, that didn’t mean a Christmas could pass without Skeppy thinking of Bad and all the pitfalls in their relationship he could’ve avoided. He still needed to work on that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Skeppy stretched his arms and prepared for a night-in with himself. It was looking to be another holiday alone: his family was on the other side of the country and all of his friends had already made plans with other people. But there was beauty in being alone, wasn't there?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy sat in front of the television screen and pulled up some random Christmas movie Vurb had recommended to him on Netflix.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Doing nothing was okay. Being alone was okay. He had spent years learning that now.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>As it turned out, the movie had been so many layers of weird Skeppy didn't know where to begin processing what had just happened. He should have expected as such from something </span>
  <em>
    <span>Vurb</span>
  </em>
  <span> of all people had recommended, though.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doorbell rang before he could get too far into his thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy frowned and glanced at the time on his phone, scrolling through his notifications. It was ten in the evening, and none of his friends had texted him. There was no reason somebody should be—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wait.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>BadBoyHalo [09:22PM]</b>
  <span> Hey! I know this is a little sudden, but I’ll be coming around in about half an hour to drop off a Christmas gift for you. Hope that’s okay.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck. Why didn’t he see this earlier?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, it was just his ex, who he hadn’t spoken to in years. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen him in that time, though; Skeppy still found himself occasionally sitting through a stream or video before the more logical part of him pulled him back. The fanboy in him had never died, after all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>(If he was being honest with himself, neither had his love. But that wasn’t relevant. Not anymore, anyway.)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy could do this. He was a stronger person now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So he exited out of Netflix, stood up from the couch, and walked to open the door. He set his hand on the doorknob and steeled himself before swinging the door open.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As expected, Bad stood on his doorstep in his signature red and black hoodie, a wrapped box in his hands. He offered him the same smile Skeppy had fallen so hard for all those years ago, extended him the same kind energy he would to anyone else. It was like an angel had appeared on his doorstep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, hey,” Skeppy said. Ugh, he hadn’t used his voice in a while. His words came out just as scratchy as his throat felt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Bad said, “sorry for the short notice. Do you, uh…” He glanced towards the living room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh. It was pretty cold outside. Skeppy took a step to the side and cleared his throat. “No, you can come in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad shuffled his shoes off before talking a few hesitant steps inside, eventually making his way to the middle of the living room. “You been doing well lately?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy shut the door behind him and followed. “I guess so.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Staying safe from the cold?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For the most part, yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm. Well, I guess I should cut to the chase then.” Bad turned towards him and held the present out with a nervous smile that didn’t quite suit him. “Here’s a Christmas gift for you. Go ahead and open it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy blinked. Bad remembered to get a present for him? He thanked him before taking the gift and unwrapping it bit by bit, letting the wrapping fall like snow around him. Opening gifts had been a messy ordeal for him during past holidays and would continue to be. Once all the wrapping paper was torn off, he opened the box inside and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Holy shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a snowglobe of the Skeppy amusement park Bad had surprised him with all those years ago. Fuck, the structures inside the globe were all blocky and everything. The ferris wheel with his faces on it, the circus building, even their little Minecraft skins posed to walk around the park together, side-by-side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this…” He trailed off, not quite trusting himself to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad nodded. “I got it commissioned back a couple years ago. It’s been sitting in my house since then, but I thought it belonged with the person it was meant for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy shook the snowglobe, watching the snow fly up then slowly descend. His heart shook with the globe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every piece of this world had been so thoughtfully crafted, from the terrain to their characters. The original Minecraft world had taken a year to build, and god knew how many people Bad had to contact before finally finding someone who was both willing to take on the job and capable of it. Bad had weaved this world together with all the love he could offer, and now that all that love was shot at Skeppy in one moment…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy choked back a sob, familiar streaks of tears running down his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Bad was there immediately like he always had been. He set a hand on Skeppy’s shoulder that felt much too secure. “Wait, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Do you want me to leave?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m fine but…” Skeppy sniffed and raised a hand to wipe his eyes. The winter had been cold enough to freeze him over. Now that the dam had melted, everything he had wanted to say so desperately came pouring out like water. “What the hell, dude? You spent so much effort on this, on </span>
  <em>
    <span>me,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I don’t know how you’re a real person. How are you so kind to me? Even after everything I said to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words hung in silence. Maybe he shouldn’t have said—</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because love for someone doesn’t go away right when you stop seeing someone every day,” Bad said softly. “Of course I still love you, Skeppy. That kind of love doesn’t go away in just a few years.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was right. Skeppy knew because he felt it himself every so often when he found himself wandering back on Bad’s Twitter profile, when he walked past a bakery selling muffins, when he let his thoughts drift back to all the time they had spent together. The love wasn’t as intense, passionate as before, but it still clung to him like a scent that wouldn’t quite rub off a set of clothes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I wasn’t too perfect to you back then either,” Bad said. If Skeppy listened close enough, his words were tinged with regret. “I don’t think I was ready for a relationship back then. I was immature, I put a lot of my needs ahead of yours, I wasn’t the best partner I could’ve been. We both weren’t, were we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy chuckled at that. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. But do you, like regret…” Damn it. The words were stuck in his throat. “You know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> regret it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Finally, there was something easy about this conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Skeppy said with no hesitation. He hoped Bad could hear that even with the cracks in his wobbling voice. “Not at all.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad smiled at that. “Then I’d say I don’t regret it either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed like that for a while, Bad’s hand on Skeppy’s shoulder while they watched the white flakes in the snowglobe drift up and down. And strangely, it was the most comfortable Skeppy had felt in three years. This felt too natural for two people who hadn’t seen each other in years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember?” Bad asked. “Remember that Christmas party your friends threw? And you yelled at all of them for putting up a mistletoe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy giggled. He remembered that well, actually.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Who the fuck did this?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Skeppy had seethed while ignoring Bad’s usual language quip. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Vurb? It was Vurb, right? No way it wasn’t.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And all their dumbass friends had just laughed at them from various parts of Finn’s living room (though Finn had been conspicuously missing from the scene—probably preparing drinks for everyone in the kitchen. He still needed to confirm that).</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I mean,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Spifey had laughed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“If you wanna pin all the blame on Vurb, then sure. I think we all deserve some credit here, though.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course they had all been in on it. All four of the idiots he called his best friends. Those little shits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Skeppy could deliver the clapback of the century, Bad had laughed and tugged at his sleeve.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Geppy. We’re already dating, right?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Bad had said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy had grumbled but kissed Bad on the cheek, his face heating as their friends clapped and cheered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And at that point, it had still been early into their relationship when the two were still uncertain of what was too far, what wasn’t far enough, how to navigate the relationship as a whole. In hindsight, that was what had pushed them from being in a casual relationship to a serious one. He hadn’t known whether to thank his friends or smack them over their heads at the time, but now that he had the chance to look back, he should probably thank them soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>God, all those happy memories together…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed you,” Skeppy murmured. “I missed you so much. It’s not fair.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad chuckled softly at that. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t miss you, too. Do you want a hug?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Holy fuck, yes. But instead of running his mouth even more than he had today, Skeppy set the snowglobe down on the table nearby before turning to embrace Bad.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad was just as warm as he remembered. He felt so secure, so safe that Skeppy felt he might melt in his arms. He really had missed this. He missed it more than anything else on the planet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just like that, he was crying again. Why was he so weak when it came to Bad?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad held him tighter like a promise. Judging by the wet spot on his shoulder, Skeppy wasn’t the only one crying. They were two ends of a bridge now, supporting each other while giving just enough leeway to bend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then his thoughts drifted back to the promise ring sitting in the back of some drawer in his bedroom, the one he grew nauseous thinking of throwing away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His stomach dropped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fuck. That hadn’t been Bad throwing away his promise to Skeppy. Bad had been trusting him to keep him accountable to that promise, to hold onto it until Bad was ready to fully give himself to keeping the promise. And as it turned out, Skeppy had done so without even realizing it. That was all Skeppy needed for the ice around his heart to break.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bad, listen,” Skeppy said, breaking away from the hug to look him in the eyes. “Do you wanna try this again? Maybe not the whole relationship thing right now—Hell, maybe not even a friendship right now. But just… can we see each other again? Can we talk again? Is that—Is that something you’d want, too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bad’s eyes shimmered, and Skeppy found his heart falling flat at that. “Of course. I did promise to stay by your side, right? I’ll stay in any way I can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he meant it. By god, he meant that with every bit of his heart, and Skeppy could feel it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You want another hug, you muffinhead?” Bad asked with a laugh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy nodded, and they embraced again with all the love in the world. They had more to talk about, to catch up on, but he was content with what he had now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Skeppy still loved him. Despite it all, he still loved him.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so originally my plan was to write another installment of this from bad's pov of the same time frame, but i figured holidays were coming up and i really love post break up aus so. here yall go</p></blockquote></div></div>
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